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Zigzag Spiderwort

Tradescantia subaspera

Found in dry to moist woodlands and forests, hammocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

55
Strong

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
2–2.5 feet
Spread
2–2.5 feet
Light
Dappled sunlight, Deep shade, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

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At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
Spring and summer

Not yet recorded · Leaves

Recorded in 40 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Tradescantia

  • Argyrogramma verrucaGolden Looper
  • Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
  • Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth
  • Mouralia tinctoidesMock Abrostola
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
23BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Tradescantia

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Tradescantia

  • Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Commelinaceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic
Flower color
Blue or purple

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources